


Crashing Down Right Through Your Arms

by Ithinkwehaveanemergency



Category: All American (TV)
Genre: (mentioned) - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Underage Substance Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 06:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21070421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/pseuds/Ithinkwehaveanemergency
Summary: "I'm a monster.  I can't believe I-""Liv, no."  Asher pulls back and looks in her eyes.  "You're the furthest thing from a monster."Takes place sometime after episode 2x02.  Olivia has a altercation with Layla that leaves her shaken.  But Asher is right there to pick up the pieces.





	Crashing Down Right Through Your Arms

Olivia stares at the front door in shock, her hands shaking as she pulls her phone out.

She looks down and types out a text to Spencer. Tears start to well in her eyes as she describes the state that her best friend had just left in. She's sucking in lungfuls of air to steady her breath and keep herself from crying as she hits send.

"Olivia!" Asher's voice calls out before he's even opened the front door. As soon as he does, he's rambling. "What happened? I just saw Layla's car tearing out of here like-"

Her eyes fly up to his narrowed, worried gaze and she throws her hands up to stop him as he starts to walk toward her.

"No, don't!" Olivia gasps. She shakes her head and then looks down at the ground around her, tears finally starting to fall. "There's glass. She-"

He follows her gaze and sees crystal clear shattered remnants of a tall water glass strewn across the polished white tile. His eyes land on her bare feet, surrounded by shards of glass. He stands up a bit more rigid, taking slow, careful steps forward.

"Olivia, don't move. It's gonna be okay, baby. Just don't-" Asher swallows thickly and looks to the pantry. "I'm gonna grab a broom and make sure you're clear, and then you'll be able to get out of there, okay? Just give me a minute and we'll get you out of there."

Olivia doesn't say anything, just bites her lip and sobs silently, looking at the ground.

He makes quick work of carefully gathering everything he can see, trying to avoid crunching anymore pieces with the soles of his sneakers. When its clear enough, he puts the broom to the side and walks over to the quiet young woman he'd come to see.

"Liv, I'm gonna… Just humor me for a sec. Just in case, okay?" Asher stands in front of her, questioning, hesitant, until she looks up from the ground and into his eyes.

He nods at her at puts his hands on her waist, hers falling on his shoulders, and lifts her up, stepping quickly toward the kitchen island. He sets her down on top of it so that they can check her bare feet for any small glass shards.

"She's not okay." Olivia whispers as Asher picks a barely there sliver of glass from the sole of her foot. He freezes and looks up at her, frowning at the tear tracks on her cheeks. "She's not okay at all, and we have to help her."

"I'm concerned with making sure you're okay, first, Liv." Asher switches to her other foot, looking it over until he's satisfied that she's safe from potential cuts or glass splinters. When he is, he stands and looks up into her eyes again. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

Olivia lets out a wet, sad laugh and wipes at her eyes.

"She wanted…"

Asher stares patiently as she trails off. He walks over to a box of tissues near the sofa and bring them back to the kitchen.

"She was so sad, Asher. I wanted her to feel something, instead of just walking around like a bitchy zombie all the time!" Olivia cries out and he sees it in her eyes when she starts to blame herself for what happened tonight before he arrived. "I poked and prodded at things. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have pushed her."

"Liv, what happened?" Asher whispers, his hands coming to rest on her upper arms.

The seventeen year old girl sniffs and looks up again, her eyes bloodshot and tired. It takes everything inside Asher to not just crush her to his chest and never let go.

"She wanted to know who sold drugs at Beverly. She asked me to tell her where she could get pills." Olivia whispers back. The ends of her frown turn even deeper and her face contorts in effort to not start sobbing again. "And so I told her… I fucking… I said that her mother would be ashamed to see her like this."

Asher's heart stops as he lets the words settle. He feels sympathy in his bones for the pain those words must have caused the ex-girlfriend he still cares for deeply. His hands drop from Olivia's arms and he hears her start the silent sobs once more. His eyes go wide and he gives in to his earlier urge, wrapping his arms around the girl in front of him and holding her close. He whispers comforting words into her shoulder and tries to calm her down.

"I'm a monster. I can't believe I-"

"Liv, no." Asher pulls back and looks in her eyes. "You're the furthest thing from a monster. Don't let yourself focus on this right now. We need to figure out how to help her, and then you can worry about being sorry, alright?"

Olivia sniffles and nods.

"She uh… she kind of just… threw her glass into the ground as she left." Olivia mutters, looking around at the now-clean tile. "She was so mad. She wasn't trying to hurt me, she just… she's so lost, Asher. I know what it's like, I know how bad it hurts. I know why she doesn't want to feel anything. I don't want to see her like this, I don't-"

"I know, baby. I'm so sorry. We'll help her, okay?" Asher rubs her shoulders and takes her into his arms again. "I promise. We'll do whatever it takes to help her."

*****

Olivia walks out of her bathroom to find Asher sitting on the edge of her bed, on the phone. He hangs up as she crawls into the other side of the bed and curls toward him.

"Just talked to Spencer." Asher sighs as he shifts so that his back is to the headboard. He twists to look at Olivia and smiles sadly. "I wanted to help, but he says to just wait it out while he looks for her. Said thanks for texting him when you did."

Olivia frowns and nods.

"I uh… I also texted a couple guys from the team I trust to not run their mouths, said to look out for her if she calls around."

"Thank you, Asher." Olivia says with a forced smile. "For everything. I'm glad you were coming over. I don't know what I would've…"

"It's alright now." Asher brushes her hair back and over her shoulder with a fond look. "I'll come back in the morning, alright?"

He doesn't get far, because as soon as he pulls his hand away, there's a delicate set of warm fingers on his wrist.

"Stay. Please. At least for a while?" Olivia says, and then lets go of his forearm. She stares up at him and curls in a little closer on her side.

"Yeah, of course." Asher nods. He shifts back so he's slouched against the headboard. He types out another text, holding his phone up on his abdomen.

"Asher?"

He looks down from his phone at Olivia, whose hair is spread across the pillow like something out of a movie or a fairy tale. His breath catches in his throat, so he just makes a sound in acknowledgement at her.

"You need to stop calling me 'baby.'" She speaks softly enough that it doesn't sting as much as it should, but Asher's heart still hurts as he stammers out an apology.

"I didn't mean-"

"I like it." Olivia interrupts him, shocking him with her blunt words. She shifts closer, putting her head against his torso, and he tentatively rests his hand between her shoulder blades as she cuddles closer. "I really like it Asher. But that's why you can't. It's not time for that. There's a lot going on with our friends, our families. If we-"

"It's fine. I get it Liv." Asher rasps out, his hand moving from her back to her hair, petting the soft curls in a comforting movement. "I know exactly what you mean. And I agree with this timing being shit, especially since we haven't even started in on Jordan's bullshit yet."

Olivia sighs dramatically and it brings a half smile to Asher's face, knowing that she's relaxed a little from the rattling events if the night.

"But just so you know, we will figure this out." Asher runs his fingers through the tips of her hair. "I promise I'm going to help, okay. Just like you helped me. You've taught me a lot about what it means to care about someone, Liv. I want you to know that."

"Okay." Olivia mumbles into the fabric of his shirt. "We'll figure it out. And then you can call me 'baby,' if you want."

Asher shakes softly in silent laughter and leans down to kiss the top of her hair.

"I feel like you're trying to make fun of me." He teases. "But the jokes on you, because you've already admitted that you like it."

"I really do."

The words are soft, laced with exhaustion and it makes the warmth in Asher's chest grow.

"Go to sleep, Olivia." Asher rubs her back gently. "I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
